Here’s what you shouldn’t do about those unidentified drones over New Jersey: Shoot them

Lawmakers have suggested the U.S. military shoot down mysterious drones over New Jersey. Here's why residents shouldn't do that.

Mysterious drones spotted over New Jersey and other states in the Northeast have prompted so much concern and confusion that a chorus of lawmakers have suggested the U.S. military shoot them down.

However, experts warn, that doesn’t mean residents should take matters into their own hands: Shooting drones is illegal and could end in serious injury.

“I can totally understand the primal instinct to protect ourselves,” said Pramod Abichandani, an associate professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and the director of the school’s Advanced Air Mobility Lab. “But I want to caution against going as extremist as trying to shoot them down.”

Not only is trying to target a drone in the sky difficult for the average marksman, he said, it’s also a crime. The Federal Aviation Administration classifies drones as aircraft and, under the Aircraft Sabotage Act, damaging or destroying aircraft is a federal offense — even if it’s flying over private property. 

Officials say the drones flying over New Jersey in the past few weeks appear to be commercial-grade, not recreational. They have caught the attention of the White House, which has sought to quell the anxiety over them.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/s-shouldnt-unidentified-drones-new-jersey-shoot-rcna184153

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